Computers are ubiquitous in today's society. Computer operating speed is related to the speed of the computer's processor. In general, processor speeds increase continually as the industry witnesses an ever increasing growth in the number of transistors per integrated circuit. As processor speeds increase, other devices coupled to the processor also increase their operating speed to gain the full advantage of increased processor speed. Buses, which are used to couple devices together, also increase in speed in order to provide the full advantage of the increased processor speed to the various devices in the system.
Computer companies strive to keep pace with the changing technology trends. In part, this endeavor includes making decisions based on consumer marketing trends as to which new technologies should be offered in the latest computers. However, consumer needs change rapidly as new technology becomes available. For example, a computer company may have already begun production on a computer system that implements a certain configuration of the bus (e.g., PCI-Express™), and midway through production consumer preferences may change so that consumers desire a different bus configuration. At this point in production, valuable market share may be lost if the computer company has to redesign the computer for a different bus. Accordingly, computers that contain the latest technology and are also adaptable to newer technology trends are desirable.